Pro Tips from the Travel Guide

       I’ve talked about safety and how to be a tourist, but these are just random things I have learned throughout my trip that those of you reading these and considering studying abroad might enjoy.

       Keep a journal. Religiously. I had always tried to keep diaries and journals as a kid but I never succeeded. When I arrived here, I forced myself to begin journaling every day. I try to write about what I do every day down to the food that I’ve eaten. I’ve written this journal for me and no one else, so that later in life I can look back and relive all of the adventures as many times as I want.

       Keep tickets from all of the touristy places you go. I have a drawer full of what looks like meaningless scraps of paper, but each one is a memory. I’m not an arts and crafts type person, but I do hope to make something out of all of the tickets and information pamphlets I’ve collected from places all over the world.

       Have set in your mind one thing that you want to get each place you travel to. Whether it be a snow globe, a ceramic plate, or a shot glass, collect something small and inexpensive instead of blowing all of your money on souvenirs.

       If you eat somewhere delicious, drop a pin. Study abroad is a group effort of friends tag teaming to find where the inexpensive, delicious food is. The notepad on my iPhone is full of foods I have tried that I wrote down because I thought my friends would enjoy them. You are also going to be returning to the United States a walking guidebook, and having names of places and exact addresses will make you an awesome guidebook.

       If you don’t think you are going to make it on time to either a bus station, train station, or the airport; take a taxi. The metro-gods are pretty incredible, but it is much safer to shell out the extra cash than then end up paying to reschedule the ticket.

       In light of everything that happened in France, when things happen, whether in the country you are studying in or a country close by, always get in contact with your family and tell them you are safe. Keep your family informed of your travel plans and always text your parents when you land and take off when travelling. I try to make sure that I communicate with at least one person in my family every day.

       Most importantly, cherish every moment. All of my friends except one are only semester students who will be leaving in the end of December. Thinking about them leaving is heartbreaking, but we are all doing our best to spend as much time together as we can. Seize the day every day and then write everything you did in your journal so you can remember the jokes and memories forever.

Poland

       Our trip to Krakow, Poland began where else but McDonalds. After a 5 hour layover in Frankfurt, my friend Emily and I wanted none other than America’s finest in Poland. We quickly learned that most people in Poland speak English, which was a huge relief since we speak 0 Polish. We then went to our Airbnb and crashed because we had to wake up early to catch our van to Auschwitz.

       The next day we had an hour van ride to the Auschwitz one camp for a tour. The feeling I had walking through the gates that foggy morning is one I will never forget. It is very hard to describe, but my heart felt extremely heavy and I felt in that moment like I would never be able to smile again. Auschwitz one is brick cell-blocks where the prisoners of war lived and Birkenau is where the Jews mass-murdered. Birkenau is made up of wooden cell-blocks, so most of them are no longer safe for people to walk in so the majority of what we saw was at Auschwitz one. We walked through a cell-block that showed us how the prisoner’s lived, beginning from straw and then being upgraded to wooden slats.

Walking through the gate

       Originally, before the use of tattoos, prisoners had their pictures taken, and the next block we walked through was filled with pictures of the prisoners. Many people had placed flowers on top of some of the pictures and candles were lit everywhere throughout.

       When prisoners first arrived at the camp, all their stuff was taken from them and stored in warehouses called Canada 1 and Canada 2. When the camp was liberated, everything found in Canada 1 and 2 were kept and put in exhibits in a few of the cell-blocks. We walked through rooms full of hair, luggage, pots and pans, glasses, and shoes. The worst for me was seeing a small display case full of baby clothes and booties. It was really hard to walk through each room knowing how each of the people died.

       When then went to the prison of the prison where we saw starving cells, standing cells (a 5x5 cell where 4 people had to stand until either their punishment was up or they died), there was one cell where there was so little ventilation that the prisoner’s suffocated, and we also saw the wall where the prisoners were lined up and shot.

       All of the gas chambers and crematoriums that were at Birkenau had been destroyed before the camp was liberated, but Auschwitz one still had one gas chamber and one crematorium which we got to see as well.

       We then took a brief tour of Birkenau and saw a children’s cell block, a train car, and the wreckage of the gas chambers and crematoriums.

Birkenau

       After leaving the camp and heading back to Krakow, Emily and I were emotionally exhausted and decided to spend the rest of the night exploring Krakow. We saw the cathedral, the palace, and took a carriage ride through the city center which was incredible.

St. Mary's Basilica

       Overall, the trip was very powerful, one I will never forget. I do hope to return to Poland one day, in the summer, when it isn’t 30 degrees and foggy.

Krakow city center